Apparatus for making sheet glass



Feb. 9 1926. 1,572,468

R. L. CLAUSE APPARATUS FOR MAKING SHEET GLASS Filed May 15, 1925 INVENTOR TED: -1;

ROBERT L. CLAUSE, F SEWICKLEY, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR- T0 PITTQBUHGH PLATE GLASS COMPANY, A CORPORATICBN (DE-PENNSYLVANIA.

APPARATUS FOR M AK ING SHEET GLASS. 4

Application filed ma 13, 1925. Slerial No. aaesa To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that L'BOBERT L. CLAUSE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Sewickley in; the county of Allegheny and State oi new and useful invention in Improvements in an. Apparatus for Making Sheet Glass, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to apparatus for making glass in a continuous sheet or ribbon b a rolling process. It has for its primary o ject the provision of improved means for supporting the glass while it hat-dens or sets tollowin its formation between the rolls, and for lorwarding it during such period in'such manner as to avoid any substantial stretching. 1 Certain embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1' is. a vertical section through one form ofthe apparatus as applied to a glass tank. And Fig. 2 is a vertical section'illustrating a modification.

Referring to Fig. 1, the numeral 1 indicates a 'melting tank, preferably of the regenerator type having at its forward end an outlet slot 2. This outlet slot is carried in a verticalmovable clay member 3 constituting the front wall of the furnace and supported for vertical adjustment and for removal in the metal frame 11 suspended by means of the chains 5"from a. suitable crane above. Theframe 4 is also supported adjustably from beneath by means of the jack 6. Provision is made for cutting oil the flow of glass to the outlet slot by the use of ,the'refractory gate 7 and the water cooled gate 8 supported from above for vertical movement by means of suitable tackle includin the chains 9 and 10. At the trout of t e furnace is a car or truck 11 mounted upon the track 12 for transverse movement and carrying the frame 13 in which are journalcd the sizing rolls 14 and 15 suitably driven by means which are not shown with passages to permit of the circulation of a coolin fluid, such as water, through the rolls. he frame '13 which carries the rolls may be adjusted towardand' from the furnace by means of screws 16 swivclcd in the body of the truck 11 and rotated in suitable nuts carried b the framing, this rotation being accomp ished by means of the worm wheels 17 carried by the screw Pennsylvania, have made a over sprockets securedand the and provided,

Shafts and operated by worms 18 on the transverse shaft 19. This shaft 19 is rotatedby means of a handle 20.

Immediately in advance of the rolls is an I all apron 2i supported at one end by the frame 13 and carried at the other end upon a pivot rod 22 journaledin the end of the casting 23. The apron 21 carries the series of rolls 24 to 30, which are hollow and cooled by a circulation of fluid, preferably Water. The rolls 26, 27, 28 and '29 are driven by the sprocket chain 31 passing to the ends of the roll shafts and round the drive sprocket 32, rolls 24: and are driven from the roll 26 by means of the sprocket chains 33 and 34 passing around suitable sprockets] I Forward of on, the ends of the roll shafts. the apron 21 is the leer 35 provided with the rolls 36' driven by the chaiu 37 passing over sprockets carried by the ends of the roll shafts. A refractory cover 37 is pref.- erably provided above the apron and the space between the cover and apron is heated by means of the gas burners 38, the vertically movable damper 39 also serving to regulate the temperature in this space-and in the entrance portion of the. leer.

constitute a plurality of platens 40 to 44, arran ed as illustrated, and made hollow so t ata cooling fluid such as water may be circulated .therethrough.' These platens referably fit.

around the rolls as indicate in order to provide a table surface whichfis a pioxi-. mately continuous, the surface of suc 1 table being made up in part of the flat uppeufaces of the platens and in part by the upper peripheries'of the rolls. This bed orjtuhle construction prevents any sagging of the" glass sheet as it passes thereover, and by the time the jglass reaches the roll 28, its

passes between the rolls have an opportunity The table of which the rolls. 24. a 30 part is also provided with a,-

. lower surface! is so chilled by contact with a I I' and the s construction, but the provision of space between the to resume their s herical shape (because of the softness of t e. glass) after the gla passes the rolls. The provision of the rolls P lnterspersed between the platens is also an advantage as there is less tendency to stretch the glass than would be the case if a continuous platen were used and ,suflicient traction were applied at the front end of the platen by the leerrolls to drag the glass over the p aten. It is desirable to avoid this stretch-- mg, as this tends to make the glass of non= uniform thickness and also tends to elongate, seed and bubbles so that they have greater visibility in the glassthan if left in spherical shape.-

Fi 2 illustrates another construction in whic the upper surface of the table carried by the apron 46 is in the same horizontal p ane as the pass between the rolls 4:7 and 48. The bed, in this case, comprises the cooling rolls 49 to 54 and the interspersed platens 55 to 58, such platens being in this instance preferably made of trian lar cross section and being cooled .by the circulation of fluid therethrough, as in the other ty of con-- struction. A cover'59 is provid above the glass as in ace therebeneath is heated by meansof e burners 60. In this construc tion, the chilling effect of the roll 48 upon H the glass is less that that of the roll 15 in the Fig. 1 construction, so that the chilled skin formed by this roll is less than in the Figh 1 t e platen 55 fitting into the rolls, makes this arrangement feasible, since the glass has no-opportunity' to sag after it leaves theroll 48.

What I claim is:

1. Apparatus for forming sheet glass continuously in a sheet or ribbon from a body of molten glass, comtprising a'pair of cooled rolls contacting. wi said molten body of glass, and a table for receiving the glass and forwarding it, comprising a series of spaced rollers, a series of p atens interthe other type of construction,

' spersed betweenthe rollers having their up t e tween the rollers, means for driving the rollers, and means for circulating a cooling fluid through the rollers and latens.

3. Apparatus for formin s 'eet glass continuously in a sheetor ribbon from a body of molten glam, comprising a pair of cooled rolls' contacting with said molten body of glass, and a. table for receiving the glass and forwarding it, comprising a series of sp rollers, 51. series of platens'interspersed between therollers havingltheir upper surfaces substantialy flat and ling the spaces between the rollers, forwarding means in advance of the table, and means for circulating a cooling fluid through the rollers and platens.

4. tinuously in a sheet or ribbon from a body of molten glas, comprising a. pair of cooled rolls Apparatus for forming sheet glass concontactm withsaid molten body of glass,

and a tab e for receiving the glass and for warding it, comprising a series of spaced rollers, a series of platens interspersed between the rollers having their upper surfaces ;substantially flat and filling the spaces be tween the rollers, and means for cooling the rollers and platens, the'said platens having their side walls concave so as to fit around the rolls. 4 I

In testimony whereof, .I have hereunto subscribed my name this 5th dayof May,

" ROBERT L. CLAUSE. 

